Joseph



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOSEPH-iS. IVES, OF MORRISANIA, NEW YORK.

ENGRAVl'NG-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of- Letters Patent No. 37,235, dated December 23, MC2,

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that l, JOSEPH S. IVES, of Morrisania, of the county of Westchester, in the State of New York, have invented a new and `nseful-lllachine for Doing All Kinds of Engravin g; and I do hereby declare that the i'ollowing is a full and exact description thereot, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part or" this application.

My invention has for its object to execute by machinery ev'ery variety of engraving, and relates to certain improvements in that kind ot' machines in which a given design is copied on a reduced scale, so as to make the machine capable of 'producin g from a given former orv design the same design on any required scale,

and als varied in any and all of its proportions.

Previousio my invention in achines have-been invented and used for copying designs, writin'g, &c.-as, 'for instance, the pantograph.- which were capable of reproducing plans, iigures, &c., on the same or a larger or smaller scale than the original; but I am not aware that any machinehas heretofore been conceived forengravingl from a pattern, and so constructed as to vary at pleasu-re of the op erator both the proportions and the scale of the copy. V

My invention consists in an organized machine in which a graver or engraving-tool is made to en grave from a pattern or former, and so constructed that by various adjustments of the parts the design cut can be varied in scaleand proportionsfrom the pattern or former, substantially as hereinafter fully described.

To enable others to maken-nd use my invention, I will proceed to describe my improved machine, referring by letters to the accompanyin g drawings, forming part of this appli cation, in which- Figure l is aperspective view of .my engraving-machine. -Fig 2' is a vertical section through the centerof the same. Fig. 3 is .a

, horizontal section at the line .2J-, Fig. 2; yand Fig. 4 is a horizontal section atthe line y y,

f Eig. 2.

In the several figures the same'parts are in- 4 dicated by the same letter 'of reference.l

. A-is the bed-plate or base of the machine, from which extends a vertical frame-piece 'or standard, B, having at its .upper end a headbloclr,E`, and carrying the working parts of the machine. The bed-plate A serves as the table for holding the pattern, and has in its upper surface an adjustable carriage-piece, a, (secured by a screw, a2,) andv stop b, for the adjustment of the pattern or former o, which is fastened in the proper position on said carriage by any suitabledevice. The pattern c is illustrated as a plate having cut in it the letter C, in old English. j F is an adjustable stand or arm, which projectsfrorn the frame, B, as clearly seen. Said stand Fis adjustable vertically'in the slot g, (where it is secured by a thumb-nut, M and sustains ashaft or rod,

K, which is hung therein, in the following manner, viz: The rod K is held in a sleevepiece, J, which is hung by two pivots, o o,4

(see Figs. 3 and-2,) inthe cylinder I. This cylinder I is secured within another, H, which hangs in thel ring G, and this ring G is pivoted atl lto the said' stand F, which has a Acircular hole through it, as shown, for the accommodation of the ring G. The cylinder I is adjustable vertically within thecylinder or hub H, (for purposes to be presently eX plained,) and is secured by a set-screw, h, which passes through a slot in the side of El and into I.

(See ,Ilig 2.) The cylinder H is so arranged.

within the ring Gr as to turn freely the-rein, being held by a pressure or tension spring, s, and the sleeve J which slides vertically on the rod K, is secured by a set` screw, j. .The objects of the just-named adjustablity of sleev'eJ and ring or cylinder H will be presently described.

In the lower end of rod K is arranged a smaller rod, k, which is free to slide vertically within the rod K, and which is provided at its low-er end with a small handle, i. On the np. per end oi' shaft or rod K is formed a button or head, K', (see Figs. 2 and 4,) which is hung by pivots n n to a collar or ring', O. This ring Ois pivoted at m m to the frame P, which is hinged at r to the tablev or frame D. The frame O is securedby a nut,N, to the frame B, and carries or supports' the table D, on"

which the plate 'to be engraved is secured. d is a spring-clamp for holding the plate to be cnt, and e is the engraving point or tool, which is arranged in the end of head-block E, and is. ixedwith aspring,f, whichraises it from the work, when released by thehand of the oper-- y ator. The 'table DLI have shown as resting on and slidiiignpon the top of frame C; but it will he vunderstood that '-s'aid table D may be.

j as to enable it to move in any direction in ahol izontal plane with very little' friction:

In Fig. 1 it will be seen that on part of the external circumference of the cylinder H is marked (in red) a scale. There is also av similar scale ot'parts or degrees on the top edge,

of ring G,the object'of which scales is to ena le the operator to set or turn the cylinder H o .,ny desired position within the'ring G, as andV tor. purposes to be presently explained.

Having sov far alluded to. the construction and arrangement together of the several parts ofthe machine, I will now describe its opgration. l 1

, Suppose the pattern shown tobe secured on bed-piece b,.and the parts of the machine to be in the adjustment shown in the drawings,

the operator, after placing his platel in the I proper position on table D and securing it thereon, takes hold of the handle t' with his right hand and holds the toole with his left; then, placing the point of k in, the lines or cut of thepattern c, and, .tracingthemoven the graver or tool c will be 'made to out the design of c on a reduced scale on the plate placed on D, for the rod K being on a universal joint in the stand F, its upper end will duplicate the motions of its lower e'nd, and the table D being hung by a universal joint to the upper end of rod K, the plate fastened on said table will be moved under theengrav.- ing-point precisely as the-point of k moves, the extent of its motions compared with those of point la depending on the relative distances of said table D and said point Il:V from the universal joint on which rod K turns.

1t will be understood that by hanging the sleeve J of rod K on pivots o o, and the ringl G (which moves with cylindersH and I) on pivots l I, asshown and described, the rod K will turn in every direction in the stand F, as

though hung therein on a ball-and-socket joint, and it will be seen that -a similar result is accomplished at the upper end of the rod K by connecting it to the table Din the-manner shown and described. vAs the lower end of rod K moves in the surface (or plane of the surface) of a sphere, and the pattern c is in a horizontal plane, it is evident that the point k, it' fast to rod K, couldonly touch the plane o fo at one point; but by having the rod k arranged to slide up and down in rod K, as

shown, the rod k will rise and fall as its pointv travels .aver plane ofc, keeping always in contact therewith, except whenlifted entirely oli' by the operator having hold of handle i. The pressure of the spring f has a tendency to lift the graver or tool e ofl of the work, and when saidtool has asimple cutting-point the operator onlyykeeps said point down in contact with the plate to be engraved during the time of cutting, allowing it to rise when not cutting, to prevent scratching the plate while moving the point k from one` part to another of the pattern or former c. When the tool e is of that kind which have aV cutting-edge or the'tool e around in its bearings in accordance v with -the line 'of travel of the point 7c, so as to keep the cutting-edge orside of tool e always against the motion of plate on table D.

X'Yhen it is desired to vary 'thev size 'ot' the design to be cut, the screw j is turned so as to release the rod K from sleeve J. The nut M is thenloosened and thc stand F moved vertically down to increase size and up to decrease it, (thel sleeve sliding around the rod K,) and ret'astened at any desired position on frame B by said nut M, when sleeve. J is again secured to rod K. This adjustmentv varies the distance fromeach end of rod K to its fulcrums l t and o o, and hence the size of the design to be cut.

When it is desired to change the proportions of the-design, (say, for instance, to increase or diminish the height of the letter on c without varying-its width,) the screw h is loosened and the cylinder I moved up or down and refastened by screw h. By thus changing .the position of cylinder I ver# tically within cylinder H the pivots o o'are raised or lowered, while those, l l, remain in the same position, (relative to thetw-o ends ofrod K,) and thus the motions of the upper end of rod K in one direction are varied in their extent while the motions in the other direction are not changed, thereby changing the height of the design cut without changing its width.- Itk will be understood that in malo ing the adjustment, just described the sleeve- J must .be temporarily released from the rod K. j v

Besides the variations ofdesign from one pattern, already described,another can be made'- viz the letter tobe cut from former c can be made to droop or incline in either direction from its base, at any desired angle, bythe following adjustment: I have -hereinbefore described the 'cylinder Hv as being capable of turning around Within the ring G, and held by a tension-spring, c. (See Figs. 2 and 1.) By turning said cylinder H in either direction (by the scale on it and on ring G) the machine may be set to eut the letter on c at any given inclination to its base ineither direction, (that is, inclined backward or forward.)

From the foregoing dcscriptionof theconstruction and operation of my machine it will be observed that, although the machine is exceedingly simple in its construction and easily operated by any one, it can be made to produce almost infinite' changes of design from a given pattern.

In executing. all the various designs-for bank-note and other engravingthe patterns can be made of such a size as ,to have the lines and spaces between them very large, while the machine may be adjusted to engrave plates from these patterns with mathematical precision and with a 'nicety of execution which cannot be accomplished by hanil-cngravin g.

It will be understood that almost innumerable combinations of patterns may be made for producing mixed designs of a given design or figure by setting duplicate patterns up together in various forms. l

Thel head-block E may be hinged to the frame B instead o'f being made solid, as shown, so as to `be 'turned up out of the Way for arranging work on the table D. Having fully described the construction and operation of my machine, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The employment of a shaft or rod, K, hung by a universal vjoint in an adjustable stand, vF, in combination with a table, D, or its equivalent, connected by a universal joint to one end of rod K, and a tracer or engraving-tool, e, the Whole operating, substantially as set forth, to produce on a surface placed on Atable D various designs from patterns which guide the lower end of rod K, in the manner hereinbefore described.

2.1Makingth'e pivots ortheir equivalents Aof the universal joint in stand F. adjustable the design in either direction to its base, While the pattern has no inclination, ashereinbefore described.` i

l4s The sliding rod k, in combination with the rod K and a suitable handle, substantially as and for the purposes described.'

1n testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOSEPH S. lVES.- [L In presence of- J. N.- MGINTIRE, PETER COOKE. 

